


Irish Lace

by Denois



Series: AU August 2018 [3]
Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Fluff, Irish Lace, Irish decended!Dex, M/M, MUA!Nursey, Makeup artist!Nursey, Sweet, Tooth Rotting Fluff, crocheter!Dex, nap that doesn't happen, relationship all out of order
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-13
Updated: 2018-08-13
Packaged: 2019-06-27 02:53:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,867
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15676557
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Denois/pseuds/Denois
Summary: Dex wasn’t expecting Nursey to be in their room. He wasn’t sure where he expected Nursey to be. In a pile of leaves on the quad, maybe. But when he pushed into the room after an unexpected early release from his anthro class, Nursey was in the room, in front of his fancy computer, talking while applying blush to his already contoured cheek.





	Irish Lace

**Author's Note:**

> Love to Theo and [B_Frizzy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/b_frizzy) for the beta.
> 
> I don't know, y'all. I thought of this when I was 3 drink Denois and I wrote it the next night as 1 drink Denois. (For reference, the last time I was any drink Denois before this past weekend was probably 6 months ago). 
> 
> I'm not sure how this really counts as an au, since we don't know for sure that Nursey isn't a MUA and that Dex does have an Irish granny that taught him to crochet, but whatever, I'm including it in AU August.

Dex wasn’t expecting Nursey to be in their room. He wasn’t sure where he expected Nursey to be. In a pile of leaves on the quad, maybe. But when he pushed into the room after an unexpected early release from his anthro class, Nursey was in the room, in front of his fancy computer, talking while applying blush to his already contoured cheek. 

“Fuck.” Nursey straightened at the sound and hit a button to pause the recording.

“Sorry, bro. I didn’t know you were in here recording. Do you want me to go?” Dex tried not to look dejected. He’d really been looking forward to a nap. 

“Nah. It’s fine as long as you don’t mind being quiet while I talk. And stay out of frame.” Nursey turned to look at him.

“Yeah. No problem. I just want a nap and if I can sleep through you snoring, I can sleep through you talking.” He dropped his bag by his desk and then glanced at Nursey. He felt the smirk slip from his face as he froze, staring.

“Oh please. I do not snore.” Nursey paused for the usual eye roll response but it never came. “Dex? You don’t have a problem with this, right? You’ve seen me in makeup before. You know this is something I do.”

Dex finally shook himself out of it, literally shaking his head. “No. It’s no problem. It’s just, that’s a really good look on you.” He climbed up to his bunk and lay down.

“Guess that’s why I have over a hundred thou followers.” He smirked and turned back to the computer as Dex settled. 

Dex heard him start talking again and closed his eyes. Unfortunately, he couldn’t push the image of Nursey’s face out of his mind. Nursey was right. He’d seen Nursey wearing makeup before, usually some eyeliner or highlighter for kegsters. He’d even seen Nursey with a full face of makeup before.

Of course, Nursey always looked fantastic. Dex wasn’t entirely convinced that Nursey could look less than fantastic if he tried. But Dex was willing to admit that his crush biased his opinion. Still, today’s look was the best yet, clearly showing Nursey’s technical ability while emphasizing his natural beauty. 

Which is to say, Dex was preoccupied with his crush and nap wasn’t happening, so he rolled onto his side and watched Nursey over the edge of the bed. He tried to stay quiet so that he wouldn’t mess up the video, but the slats creaked as he rolled and he winced.

Luckily, it didn’t seem to distract Nursey as he applied gold liquid liner to his eyes. Not as luckily, Dex couldn’t stop himself from gasping and groaning as he watched Nursey finish his eyes and apply color to his lips. He thought maybe he was quiet enough to avoid detection because Nursey didn’t stop until he’d finished his face and did the sign off. 

“Bro, I thought you were going to nap, not be a studio audience.” Nursey was shaking his head while he started clicking on his computer.

Dex rolled back onto his back and stared at the ceiling. “I’m sorry. Did I mess up your video?”

“I don’t know yet. If it’s not too bad, I’ll just put a warning up that I had an in room audience. Get to sleep.” 

Dex lay there listening to Nursey tapping away for a few minutes, wondering what his máthair Chríona would say about Nursey. He was pretty sure that she’d love him. Groaning, he sat up and started back down to the floor.

“Bro, what are you doing? Just chill and take your nap.” Nursey turned to look at him, and laid his arm across the back of his chair.

“Shut up, Nurse.” Dex grunted and he kneeled down on the floor and reached under the bottom bunk for his suitcase. He could practically hear Nursey watching him as he finally snagged it and dragged it out into the middle of the floor. 

“You’re always asking if I’m Irish. You bug me about it at least once a semester.” Dex didn’t look up to see Nursey’s reaction, just started opening the suitcase.

“Chyeah.” 

Dex pulled out a carefully wrapped bundle that he’d kept in the case for over two years, ever since his Ma gave it to him before he left for university. “ My máthair Chríona, my grandmother, is from Ireland. Her family lived there as far back as anyone knows. Her grandmother, like a lot of poor girls from the countryside, made Irish lace to earn income in the 1800s. Specifically, she made Irish crochet lace to sell to rich ladies who wore it for weddings.”

Dex paused and took a deep breath, looking up at Nursey to see if he was listening. “I don’t know if you know about Irish lace, or Irish crochet lace, but Irish crochet lace in particular is made by making a lot of little motifs and then joining them together. She was making lace that she couldn’t afford to own. But, my máthair Chríona’s grandmother was dedicated. For every scarf, or veil, or gown that she made for a rich lady, she made a motif for herself. Eventually, she’d made her own veil. It was a small thing, just covering her head and shoulders, but she wore it for her wedding, just like a rich lady.”

“Way to go, Dex’s great great g-ma.”

Dex smiled tightly at Nursey’s comment. “She gave the veil to her daughter, who gave it to my máthair Chríona. They added onto it until it was a full length veil by the time my ma wore it for her wedding.” He started unfolding the bundle. “I’m explaining this to you so you understand. This is worth more than anything else my family owns. It’s expensive even by your standards. But more than that, it’s been in my family for over a century and an half.” 

Dex fully unfolded the veil and then stood and draped it around Nursey’s shoulders before stepping back and staring at him, trying to remain calm and remember to breathe. 

Nursey ran his fingers along the lace gently and then lifted it over his head, leaving just the front curls peeking out in front of the edge. Dex felt like a weight had lifted and he felt settled in his body as he watched Nursey turn to look at himself in the mirror by his computer. He knew that a smile was touching the edge of his lips, but he tried to restrain himself. Yes, this veil had been passed down in his family for over a century. Yes, his ma had given it to him so that he could give it to the person he wanted to marry. No, he hadn’t even admitted his crush to Nursey. No, he had no idea how Nursey feels. 

But seeing Nursey wearing that veil felt right somehow. Even if he never gets the courage to tell Nursey how he feels, he’ll have this moment to look back on. 

Nursey returned his gaze for a moment and then turned to his computer. He pulled his camera app back up and posed for a couple of snaps before closing it down again. “So, you said this look was great when I was only half done. What do you think now?” 

Dex swallowed thickly, feeling like a tennis ball was stuck in his throat. “It’s perfect, Nurse. You know you look fantastic. That’s why you have over a hundred thousand followers, right?” He breathed a half laugh, chastising himself to keep it light.

“Hmm. Ok.” Nursey fingered the lace lightly again while watching Dex. “Then maybe I’ll remember it for the next time I wear this.” He carefully removed the veil and folds it up to put away. Once he had it safely stored, he turned back to Dex and watched him for a moment. 

Dex swallowed again, clenching his hands to keep from fidgeting as he watched Nursey, wondering what he was thinking. Nursey walked towards him slowly and Dex felt like he should look away, but his eyes didn’t seem to be listening to him. 

Then Nursey’s lips were on his, and Nursey’s hands were on his hip and in his hair. Dex let his eyes flutter closed and sank into Nursey’s chest, a hand reaching up to trace the edge of his jaw and the other dropping to his hip. Nursey tilted his head and eased them into a better position, then opened his lips and Dex felt himself opening in response. Nursey’s tongue slid into his mouth gently, a soft sweep and Dex moaned in response. Nursey seemed to take that as encouragement because his tongue returned to Dex’s mouth and his fingers tightened on Dex’s hip, pulling him closer. 

Dex felt his toes curl against the floorboards and decided that if this was all a dream, then it was the best dream his subconscious had ever come up with and he was going to enjoy every minute of it. He lifted a foot and leaned into Nursey, sliding his tongue past Nursey’s to explore his mouth in turn.

All too soon, he felt Nursey pull away slightly and he fluttered his eyes open to see Nursey’s lips spreading into a smile, so close it filled his entire vision. “You know, Poindexter, most people would have asked me on a date first.”

Dex felt the laughter bubble up from deep inside. “Well, I didn’t really plan ahead on that. But it still felt like a yes.” 

“Yeah, Will. You’ve been end game for me for awhile.” Nursey captured Dex’s lips again.

 

The good thing about Irish crochet lace was that the motifs were small and easily transportable, meaning Dex could work on them during lectures and on roadies without having to carry around a lot of extra supplies. 

Still, it took a few years before the motifs were done and he was ready to put them together. Nursey’s long coat felt easy. Dressing Nursey would always feel easy to Dex, he was certain of that. Even when he was frustrated with him and wanted to scream to let off steam, he never failed to be amazed by Nursey’s beauty and intelligence. 

In a way, the motifs helped Dex because they were like their relationship. Each motif represented a moment of them being together, and they came together to form the whole. So when he got frustrated, he would pull out the lace to recenter so that they could communicate and work through it. He wasn’t sure what Nursey did to recenter at the same time, but they made it work. 

Adding lace lapels to a tux jacket and making himself a vest and tie was more difficult. But then, doing things for himself always felt more difficult. 

Still, he couldn’t argue with the results when he was standing in front of their friends and family and holding Nursey’s hands. He couldn’t look away from Nursey, radiant in the lace coat and veil, his makeup as perfect as the day that Dex gave him the veil. 

If this was a dream, he hadn’t woken yet and he hoped he never would.

**Author's Note:**

> So, I guess, comment and tell me if you think that 3 drink Denois has good or horrible ideas, or cruise over to tumblr and yell at my inbox at [SexyDexyNurse](https://sexydexynurse.tumblr.com/).
> 
> Inspired by this veil which I think would look amazing on Nursey, but it's not Irish crochet lace (if it's Irish lace at all, then it's needlepoint lace) and expecting Dex's great great granny to be able to afford to use even the ends of gold thread for her own is stretching being believable for me, so the veil in the story is ivory.


End file.
